Although The Railway Man already suckered me in with some respectable pedigree and an interesting source, this one’s prospects just got bright — since, like many others, I happen to believe Stellan Skarsgård improves literally anything. Deadline reports that he and Hiroyuki Sanada (47 Ronin, Sunshine) will co-star with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, all of whom are being led by director Jonathan Teplitzky.

Railway Man is based on the life of Eric Lomax (Firth), a man who found himself the victim of torture on the part of interrogators in a Japanese POW camp during World War II. (He’ll be played by War Horse‘s Jeremy Irvine in these flashback scenes.) After years of haunted memories, his wife, Patti (Kidman), staged a reunion with one of his captors; this is where Sanada comes in. Skarsgård, meanwhile, will play one of Lomax’s friends from the war. (Here’s hoping he and Kidman‘s characters get along better than they did in Dogville.)

Slightly sudden casting, but an encouraging pair of additions nonetheless; I especially hope these late choices don’t indicate smaller roles for the respective actors, but Skarsgård should at least be plenty safe. No smart director downplays that guy. With shooting ready to get underway this Monday, The Railway Man should hit sometime next year.

Do you think either casting choice will truly affect The Railway Man in the long run?